Nigel Clough, Jim Gannon and Mark Hughes are three of a whole host of names being linked to the Wrexham job.

Gannon’s name was immediately in the frame when he parted company with National League rivals Stockport County earlier in the season but the timing of Mellon leaving Dundee United put his name top of the list for the Racecourse head-hunters.

But Tranmere were also looking for a new manager and the lure of a Rovers return proved too tempting for the man who led the Prenton Park club to successive promotion.

Whoever it is the Reds plum for, you get the impression wheels have already been set in motion.

It didn’t look as if Dean Keates had a chance to state his case - if he even had one after Saturday’s capitulation at Dagenham - to the Wrexham owners, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.

Sunday’s dismissal came just 24 hours after Wrexham were sentenced to another 12-month stretch in non-league football.

That makes you think it was a fait accompli with the club’s new chief executive Fleur Robinson given time to come up with a manager who can get Wrexham out of this mess.

And that’s where the Nigel Clough link comes in.

Robinson would have seen how Clough junior worked during his two spells in charge at Burton, the club she has left to be part of Wrexham Football Club’s dream team.

Whether the son of managerial great Brian would want to ditch his job at Mansfield Town remains to be seen but Clough was part of the furniture at Burton Albion where he took them from non-league to Football League during his first spell with The Brewers.

Burton and Wrexham are both linked by the past too in terms of the brewing industry - something the Welcome to Wrexham documentary-makers may see as a historic link.

But forget fly-on-the-wall football soap operas and all the razzamatazz of Wrexham’s much-publicised takeover, this is all about putting things right on the pitch.

The next managerial appointment for Wrexham will be the most important.

There are so many names out there and, inevitably, when you’ve got mega-rich Hollywood film stars funding this venture, names like Mark Hughes are thrown into the mix. Hughes, who hails from Ruabon, had a magnificent playing career with Manchester United and Chelsea but has been out of the management game since being shown to door at Southampton three years ago.

The Racecourse has so many good memories for Hughes, who used to support the Reds before heading off to Old Trafford.

He scored against England on his Wales debut and who can ever forget THAT volley against Spain?

Who knows if this job may float his boat but if he did come, there’s no doubt he’d bring Eddie Niedzwiecki - who was part of Wrexham’s greatest ever side in 1977/78 - with him.

Hughes is priced at 20/1 to take Keates’ place while Chris Coleman, another ex-Wales boss, who led The Dragons all the way to the semi-finals of Euro 16 in France, is a 33/1 shot.

Coleman has recently been pictured shooting videos at The Racecourse with a number of fans putting two and two together.

But how do the numbers add up for other names in the list that also includes the current Wales boss, caretaker Rob Page, who is also a 33/1 shot.

Ex-Wrexham manager Brian Flynn - the club’s longest-serving boss - is in there, as is Sam Ricketts, who walked out on the Reds to take charge at Shrewsbury.

Current National League managers Dave Challinor (Hartlepool) and Daryl McMahon (Dagenham) could be tempted while will Wrexham take notice of what Andy Morrison has achieved at Connah’s Quay Nomads.

Twice he’s led them to the Cymru Premier title, breaking The New Saints’ domestic domination. That kind of track record should not be ignored.

Managers currently out of work and looking for a new job include ex-Reds defender Keith Hill, Phil Parkinson, Paul Dickov, Sol Campbell, Harry Kewell, Neil Harris, Neil Lennon, Alex Neil, Paul Lambert and Ian Holloway.

Robbie Fowler’s name is also mentioned as is another ex-Liverpool striker and Welsh great, Craig Bellamy.

The name that is interesting is also another former Wrexham player, Anthony Barry. He has a growing reputation as one of the top young coaches in the game - and putting a Champions League winners medal on his CV at Chelsea makes his 20/1 odds sound very interesting.